


Oh My Love

by TotalFanGirl221B



Series: Martin/Douglas - Beating Heart [2]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Presents, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 02:43:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5851024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TotalFanGirl221B/pseuds/TotalFanGirl221B
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 2 of Beating Heart; the first part must be read in order to understand what's going on! </p><p>Martin has been waiting for his birthday, despite never having a real interest in it. Though, this year he felt it was going to be different, knowing there were promises that needed to be fulfilled. Meanwhile, Douglas is worried about his partner, wondering what is troubling him so much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'd because it is very, very late! I apologise for any mistakes, and if spot any please don't hesitate to point them out :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Cabin Pressure or any of the characters!

Another year older, Martin sighed. He was not as happy as he should be about his birthday, he realised that morning, waking up in a lousy hotel Carolyn had managed to get them into for a _very_ cheap price. Hence the backache and poor lighting, just to name a few horrendous things about the room he shared with Douglas. He knew it was probably just due to sleeping badly, having fallen out of bed during the night simply because the hotel’s idea of a double bed was definitely far from being what a double bed actually _was._ It had been hard for him to sleep after that, though he made sure he got the amount of sleep needed in order to fly the next day. Still, he was so tired he could not care for the day, even though it was supposed to be a good one. Though, he had never been big on birthdays anyway, so he did not see why this one in particular should be any different. Except, he _did._ He knew exactly why, and his brain had been reminding him ever since Christmas. _Maybe…_ he allowed himself to wonder, eventually becoming rational, knowing that despite the fact that everything had been going so well with Douglas the last thing his partner wanted was yet another marriage just yet. There had been no more mention of it from Douglas since, and so Martin had stuck it at the back of his mind, it occasionally making its appearance every now and again to excite him. Still, no point in getting his hopes up, he reminded himself.

                The older man was still sleeping soundly, having not woken at all despite his moaning when he had initially entered the bed. He too had noticed the problem of the width of the bed, and even the length had bothered him. Of course, Martin was not tall enough to notice, but agreed with his partner anyway, hardly paying him any attention as he wondered whether tomorrow his dreams would come true. As he packed some things away he looked over his side of the bed to the other pilot who was snoring quietly, wondering how on earth he was still sleeping in such a horrific bed. Anyway, if he slept any longer Martin knew he would have to wake him; they had to fly quite soon, and Martin was in no mood to hear Carolyn lecture her First Officer who was not going to take any notice of such an argument. He would wait though, make sure he was ready before waking the older man, quite anxious of what was going to happen that day. He wanted to wake Douglas and see if he would keep his word, or if he had forgotten the whole thing. Maybe it was for the best if he _had_ forgotten… Martin had never been married, and so had no past experience. Douglas though, he had married three times already, each failing miserably. Martin did not want that to happen to the pair of them, and he supposed they hardly needed a certificate to prove their love for each other, right? He knew if he kept telling himself that it was bound to persuade him eventually that he did _not_ want Douglas to propose, simply to get himself ready for the disappointment now rather than later. He hoped he would be persuaded soon, as he noticed his partner stir.

                “Good morning, dear.” The older man smiled, his eyes barely open as he turned to face his Captain. Martin smiled nervously back, barely glancing at his partner, as though he believed Douglas would not say anything. Martin realised how ridiculous that sounded, but he could think of nothing else to do; the anticipation was killing him, but the knowledge that Douglas may have just forgotten would hurt even more so. He shifted anxiously at the thought, turning away as he put his shoes on. Douglas barely noticed the tension coming from his partner, having only just woken and not really paying much attention as he blinked his eyes open finally.

                “Happy Birthday,” he spoke again finally, causing Martin to freeze as he tied his laces. This was it, wasn’t it? Or maybe Douglas was waiting, maybe he would do something later, perhaps- “I have something for you, one moment.” The older man grinned mischievously, leaning over from his side of the bed into his flight bag. Martin waited with expectance, chewing his bottom lip impatiently. Would he pull out a ring? Would he get down on one knee and do it properly, or perhaps he would just broach the subject even more casually than he was already doing. All of these ran through Martin’s head so quickly, he barely noticed when Douglas shouted in triumph when finding the gift, bringing it from the bag. However, as soon as the younger man’s eyes fell on the reasonably large gift his heart sank. Swallowing the giant lump which formed in his throat he reached for the package hesitantly; whatever it was he did not want it. He realised all he had wanted _was_ a proposal, whatever he had tried to tell himself. Whatever he had been handed was not worth it, and he was incredibly disappointed. Still, he smiled half-heartedly as he took the package and ripped the wrapping off as slowly as possible. He did not want to see the contents, because he no longer cared. He was so hurt, having been desperately awaiting some romantic proposal, yet having this instead. If he had not hated birthdays before, he definitely did now.

                Douglas watched him expectantly, waiting for him to open the gift. He rolled his eyes as Martin took his time, even groaning when he was still doing so after a few minutes. “Would you like me to open it for you, mon captain?” he joked, though Martin clearly had not found it funny. He chuckled, but Douglas had known his Captain long enough to know it had been forced. Immediately he knew something was wrong, but did not say anything. He shut up, not making another joke about Martin’s slow unwrapping, and simply smiling when the man opened his gift. Martin grinned, though Douglas could see his eyes lack the light of true happiness when he opened his gift, which worried him slightly. Normally Douglas would be able to choose the perfect gift, something he knew Martin would want, but apparently he had not succeeded this time.

“Don’t you like it?” he asked, watching as Martin fiddled around with his gift, looking at it with longing in his eyes, rather than glee.

“What?” Martin instantly looked up to his partner, seeming shocked at the accusation, though failing to hide his expression of guilt. He smiled nervously, attempting to cover it. “N-no, of course I love it! It, it’s just… just what I wanted,” he nodded, seemingly unconvinced however by his own announcement. “Thank you.” He nodded once more, but still Douglas was not buying it.

“If you don’t like it Martin, I can always take it back and change it, perhaps?”

“What? No! N-no, Douglas, I _do_ love it!” he did attempt to sound more convincing this time, still the look of guilt was clear to see.

“Then why do you look so sad?”

“I, what?” Martin sighed, rushing a hand through his hair. “I’m just not, not very fond on birthdays really.” He rushed, explaining to Douglas. “Y’know how I was last, last year.” To be fair to Martin, that was true; Douglas had seen Martin last year, only a few weeks or so before they finally got together, having to be persuaded by Arthur that his birthday should be celebrated. The steward had to practically drag Martin to some pub or something in order to celebrate. Though, celebrate was hardly the word for it; Martin had been quite grumpy, Arthur had been sickeningly too cheerful, Carolyn had got slightly tipsy, and Douglas had been bored to tears, having wanted to perhaps invite Martin out alone for a birthday meal in order to bring certain things out into the open.

“All right, then.” Douglas responded after his moment of silence, not only recalling the dreadful events of last year, but also considering whether Martin was telling him the truth or not. He had decided not, but knew if he confronted Martin about it now he would get no real answer from him, only a grumpy response resulting in an argument between the two which would make for a very awkward and boring flight.

* * *

 

Arthur of course had almost jumped on Martin when he and Douglas arrived to meet them, wishing him a happy birthday. “I got you an amazing gift, Skip!” he had beamed. “But I left it at Fitton, so we’ll have to get it when we get back.” he seemed a little saddened by the fault of his memory, but that hardly stopped him from singing a very out of tune version of Happy Birthday to the Captain incredibly loudly, Douglas noticing a few horrified glances pointing their way. Martin had blushed and rubbed his neck, clearly wishing for it to be over and for Arthur to stop making such a fuss, whilst Carolyn knew there was no point in asking him to stop, having attempted a few times over the years knowing it was a fruitless attempt.

                Martin followed Douglas silently into the flight deck, barely having spoken to the man the whole way to the airfield. Douglas, admittedly, was reasonably worried. He may have done something perhaps to anger the man? Maybe he was still annoyed that he had been pushed out of the bed, though that was hardly Douglas’ fault, and he _had_ apologised for that. Still, Martin looked saddened despite it being his birthday. They were even _flying_ on his birthday, and Martin had mentioned that that did please him quite a bit. The First Officer glanced to his partner, opening his mouth to say something, but not knowing what actually to say, which was a strange feeling for him. What _could_ he say? All there was to ask was whether Martin was all right, and he knew from this morning and other past experiences that he was not going to get the truth, which could only be acquired when Martin volunteered it.

                The Captain sat staring out of the plane, only speaking when he needed to. He realised this was probably being harsh to Douglas, who probably had no idea that he had done anything wrong. Still, Martin was devastated. He had no idea he would feel so crushed, since he had never been _promised_ a proposal. “You’ll have to wait and see” is what Douglas had said, “ _maybe_ for your birthday”. _Maybe._ Not “definitely”, no. Douglas had _not_ promised anything, and so there was no valid reason for the younger man to feel so disappointed and even _let down_. He did not know how excited he had become, gathering his hopes up and then having them thrown back in his face with a different gift. The gift, Martin should have said, _was_ in fact rather brilliant. It was something he wanted and would have bought for himself; Douglas always knew what to buy for him. At any other moment he would have beamed at such a gift, believing it to be a thoughtful one and something he loved. Not today, however. Not when he had risen his hopes to receive something _so much more._ A _proposal._ A promise that he and Douglas would stay together. Yes, maybe they did not need a certificate to tell them that, but it would have been so _amazing._ To feel so _wanted._ Of course, he knew Douglas _did_ want him, otherwise he would have left him by now. But still, it just would have been nice…

                Both Carolyn and Arthur as well had noticed the foul mood Martin had been in that morning. Carolyn had put it down to it being his birthday, knowing he hated the fuss. Arthur however did not seem to understand that concept, and wondered why on earth his Skip was feeling so down on his own birthday! He had made it his personal mission to try and make Martin smile that day, though it was going to be harder than he had originally believed.

                Arthur had entered the flight deck, sensing the tension already between the two pilots. Douglas looked up at his arrival whilst the Captain still looked out of the window, though clearly he was in another world at the moment. The steward cast Douglas a worried glance, but this time Douglas did not have an answer. He could normally reassure Arthur, knowing what was wrong and being able to fix it within a matter of seconds. However, today somehow Martin had become harder to read, having shut himself off to the world. Douglas was distressed by this, being the one Martin would usually feel comfortable opening up to about anything and everything.

                “It’s his _birthday_ though, Douglas.” Arthur stressed in the galley as both he and the First Officer stood discussing their Captain. “How can he be upset on his birthday?” Douglas at any other time would have laughed, finding it quite amusing that Arthur just could not fathom such a thing. Now though, things were serious. He had no clue what was wrong with his partner, but it was beginning to trouble him more, still having not heard a peep from Martin unless _absolutely necessary._ He worried he had done something, though nothing came to mind. He knew it could not be that poor excuse Martin had given him that morning, but still no other reasons for Martin’s sudden grief came to mind. “What are you going to do when we get back?” Arthur suddenly asked, remembering what Douglas had planned. Now, there was a point. How was Douglas ever supposed to produce his _real_ gift to Martin if the man was so upset? How would he react to such a thing? Douglas had hardly considered that he may not be able to go ahead with his plan, but now that was yet another worry for him, Douglas had never had so many.

“I haven’t thought about that yet actually, Arthur.” He spoke calmly, managing to convince Arthur with his façade. “Let’s just focus on cheering him up for now, and then we shall come to that bridge if he is still in such a mood.” Arthur simply nodded, ready for any plan Douglas shot his way. Still, although he had told Arthur to forget about their plans for when they land, it still niggled at wormed its way through his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the flight seemed to go much the same way as it began; Arthur attempted to cheer Martin up with whatever he could think of, Douglas suggesting any word game which came to mind. At first the Captain had been hesitant but agreed to play, though hardly put any of the effort he usually put in. Eventually he had stopped altogether, claiming he had a headache. Douglas had been sympathetic towards the man, but had seen through the lie. He could see the younger man growing more and more agitated by the second, and it seemed directed in the First Officer’s general direction.

                “What’s the matter, Martin?” he had finally had enough. The one word answers, the tired look he kept receiving from his partner every time he spoke, the way Martin just _was_ today. Arthur was right, nobody could despise birthdays _this_ much, and Martin never had before. Yes, he would occasionally get annoyed when somebody mentioned it or made an over the top fuss, but that was not happening. Douglas had made it clear to Arthur that such a thing would _not_ cheer their Captain up, and so he was not to do it under any circumstances. As difficult as it had been for the steward, he had agreed, yet the Captain still seemed overly frustrated over something.

“Hm?” Martin looked over confused, Douglas still spotting that disappointment in his partner’s eyes which he had noticed since they boarded the plane.

“You’ve been acting odd all day, and I want to know why.” He demanded.

“I, I _told_ you.” The younger man insisted, trying to cover up once again. Douglas listened to his lies, but did not fall for them a second time. “I just don’t care for birthdays.”

“All right, I understand that.” Douglas nodded, hearing Martin breathe a quiet sigh of relief as if he had been let off the hook. “But,” he continued, startling the younger man. “Nobody has since so much as mentioned your birthday, or anything even remotely connected to it. Yet, you still appear to be angry about something, what is it?” if Martin was not angry, Douglas certainly was now. He had no idea what was going on in the younger man’s head, and why he would not just admit it utterly confused Douglas, since they both knew miscommunication was the reason for the majority of arguments. If only Martin would tell Douglas, then something could be done to fix Martin’s foul mood.

“N-nothing, Douglas-”

“Don’t lie, Martin. I have been sat with you this whole flight, not once have you smiled. Even Arthur has noticed something is not quite right,” he admitted. He noticed Martin’s face fall slightly then, and wondered what he was thinking. Perhaps debating whether he should just admit the truth to his partner now, or just let it slide and pretend everything was fine.

                It was a while before Martin did actually respond, Douglas tapping his finger impatiently, waiting for his partner’s answer. The Captain had been debating, having realised he had not done much to hide his disappointment after this morning. If Arthur had noticed then clearly he needed to at least _try._ He did not know whether to apologise to the both of them and admit he was in the wrong, or argue that it was in fact Douglas who was; he had been the one to build Martin’s hopes so high, he had been the one to disappoint the younger man, managing to hurt him without actually having the intention to do so. There was still the matter of the “promise” though, it not actually being a promise but a _maybe._ It had been _Martin’s_ fault for getting his own hopes up, rather than Douglas’. Douglas had not promised anything, thus there was no reason for Martin to be so sad and so horrible towards him. Still, he could not help it. “Douglas, it’s really nothing.” He shook his head, opting for _not_ telling his partner the truth. He knew he probably should, miscommunication having caused a few of their arguments before. There was just no point though in doing so; Douglas may apologise and explain that he had forgotten, or Martin would seem incredibly pathetic. Probably the latter, he knew.

“Stop saying that,” the older man spoke through gritted teeth; Douglas was becoming increasingly frustrated, Martin could see.

“But it really _isn’t-”_

“Yet it is something so troubling that you utter not a single word to me unless you are required to do so?”

“What? I- I’ve spoken to you,”

“Hardly,” Douglas scoffed, interrupting. “Admittedly, you did so when I asked if the checks had been done and so on and so forth, and then I managed to elicit a few monosyllabic words from you when we ‘played’ a word game.” He went on, speaking quickly. Martin was used to this now, when Douglas became angry. It took a lot to get the First Officer so riled up, though, and so Martin could not help but look so frightened. _He_ had caused this, he knew, but could not help feel as though he did not deserve this. “And Arthur,” Martin was pulled from his reverie as the older man listed more things off. “He keeps trying to cheer you up and, granted sometimes his ways can be quite annoying, you barely spare him a glance.” He finally paused, looking at his partner directly. He noticed for the first time since he began how shocked Martin seemed, and so did not stop as he knew this would be the only way to get anything from his partner. Even if it was not the whole truth it would be something. “So I’m asking you now, Martin. What _is_ it? What has happened? Have _I_ done something?” Douglas was about to ask more, but noticed Martin’s lip twitch at that last question, causing him to stop for a moment, as if his heart as well had just stopped, realising this _was_ his fault. His head scanned through things that he could have possibly done to make his partner _this_ annoyed, but nothing so bad came to mind. “What? What did I do?” Martin was silent, again internally debating what to do. “I need to know, dear.” He spoke softly now, trying to coax the answer from Martin.

“It’s… Oh gosh, it’s nothing. It’s stupid, Douglas, really. It’s not your fault,” the younger man sighed, shaking his head as he turned away. The First Officer did not speak, knowing Martin would continue if just given a moment, he was already in now and could not turn back. “It’s about today,” he began again. “I, I just thought… I was expecting something, something _different.”_ He finally confessed, each word coming out slowly as if they were painful to say.

“Did you not like the gift?” Douglas asked. If it was simply that then he would no longer worry, it was something that could easily be changed and sorted. However, the hesitation answered for him, and so he listened intently to his partner continue.

“No, it _is_ lovely, I did mean that.” He nodded reassuringly, looking back up now. “I thought you were going, going to give me something…” he trailed off, not wanting to say the rest in case he sounded pathetic or stupid, or perhaps even _spoilt,_ maybe. As though he _deserved_ a proposal. Douglas grabbed his hand, bringing him back, and stroked his thumb across the back soothingly. “A proposal.” He spat out finally, announcing it quickly. He saw Douglas’ eyes go wide at the mention, and instantly regretted it. “I know, I know. Stupid of me…” he removed his hand from his partner’s and rubbed the back of his neck which was already starting to redden. “But after Christmas,” he coughed, trying to explain his apparent stupidity. “I thought, _maybe…”_ he chanced another look at the First Officer, who still seemed quite puzzled. “Obviously not though, because why, why would you? I mean, me, why me?” Martin sighed, not noticing now the change in Douglas’ expression.

                “Again Martin, you are an _idiot.”_ Douglas smiled, watching Martin’s head pick up at the insult; he was already embarrassed enough, without having Douglas rub it in and simply confirm his suspicions.

“Hm.” He grunted, frowning.

“No, no!” the First Officer immediately realised how he must have sounded, and quickly tried to quench those thoughts from Martin’s mind. “Look,” he shoved a hand inside his pocket, pulling a small box out. At first, the Captain seemed confused. However, when his eyes fell on said box, they instantly widened, his heart skipping a beat. He was still confused, though, having believed that Douglas had forgotten all about his promise – or _not_ promise, though that hardly mattered now. The older man opened it slowly, revealing an absolutely beautiful ring, one which would go perfectly on a certain pilot’s finger.  

“W-what?” he whispered, his throat having gone suddenly dry. “H-how? _How?”_ Douglas chuckled slightly at the completely befuddled expression on his partner’s face, not being able to understand what was happening at all.

“I would have done it sooner,” Douglas confessed. “But I thought it may be more romantic to do so on the day I promised,” he smirked, Martin listening closely. “And I told Arthur my plans,”

“What? Arthur knew? Arthur knew and he _didn’t_ tell me?” Martin interrupted.

“Yes, hard to believe I know. Anyway, we decided I would do it on the plane, but when we _landed._ I had assumed you had forgotten all about it since you haven’t mentioned it at all since Christmas, and so I thought it would be a nice surprise. Apparently,” he laughed. “I assumed incorrectly. Why didn’t you _tell_ me?” he laughed, waiting for Martin to see the funny side of this. The Captain though still looked as confused as he had before, gaping at the ring sat in the box Douglas held tightly, waiting to be able to place it on his soon to be husband’s finger.

“I, I just thought… I thought you’d forgotten!” Martin almost shouted. “I thought because you gave me a gift this morning, that was it; you had forgotten all about it!”

“No, of course not.” Douglas admitted softly.

                For a moment, there was complete silence. Douglas was waiting for the bewildered Captain to speak, and Martin was just speechless. He had been so wrong, of course Douglas would not forget! And of course he would try to propose in an awfully romantic way, being the sky god that he was, rather than in a shabby hotel room. Martin could see now he had been such an idiot, but he smiled anyway. The realisation hit him; Douglas _was_ proposing to him. _Right now,_ in fact. He beamed, staring at his partner who smiled just as much.

                “Martin, you are a complete clot.” Douglas began. “But a clot that I would not mind spending the rest of my life with. Would you do me the honour of-”

“Yes!” Martin exclaimed, too excited to wait any longer. Douglas simply rolled his eyes.

“At least let me finish first,” Martin raised an eyebrow, but nodded and managed to subdue himself to wait a little while longer. “Don’t worry, I still want to spend the rest of my life with you, if you would do me the honour of becoming my husband?” Martin paused, staring into Douglas’ eyes.

“Douglas, I don’t want anything or any _one_ else. I love you,” tears formed in his eyes, but he did nothing to wipe them away. “Of course, of course.” He closed his eyes, moving in quickly to kiss his now fiancé. Douglas returned the kiss immediately, believing he had definitely made the right choice. Marriage number _four_ would certainly be the best, he had no doubt about it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be updated shortly, and any comments are hugely appreciated! I would love to know your thoughts :)


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